The Porch Swing @ Shady Creek Hollow

A Frugal Meaningful Thanksgiving

I've been working the last few days on the Thanksgiving menu. I wanted it to be reflective of our Southern heritage and also be frugal. I settled on this menu:

• Ham
• Turkey
• Cornbread Dressing & Gravy & Cranberry Sauce
• Fruit Salad- got a great recipe from 'The Southern Plate' for this
• Green Beans- for me & my sweet SIL
• Turnip Greens- for everybody else
• Mashed Potatoes
• Black Eyed Peas
• Rolls

• 2 Pecan Pies
• Chocolate Cream Pie

I pretty much have already bought everything I need for this meal. It will be made from scratch so that makes for a very frugal feast. I bought the ham and turkey on sale a couple of months ago and they were very cheap. The turkey was under 40 cents a pound and the spiral sliced ham was about a dollar a pound.  Everything else is canned or dried [black eyes] except the turnips. My big splurge was the five dollar bag of pecans that I got to make the pies. If I'd been at home in Albany, I would have just picked them up from the under the pecan trees in my mother's back yard. I could have made a more frugal dessert, but pecan pies are special family favorites.  

We will be eating the formal meal Wednesday night. It will be a dress up, candle light, good china etc dinner. Then the kids and Mom will be here overnight so the next day [Thanksgiving] we can eat leftovers and watch the parade, football games, and play Texas Hold'em all day. We use dried beans for 'chips'. I might get some kind of small prize for the overall winner. If I'm very blessed, I'll get the crew to take an afternoon walk with me down to the horse stables about 1/2 mile away. It is a very pretty walk and I like to see the horses. We might even light the big fire pit in the backyard- it's a great place to sit around and talk with a glass of wine in your hand.

The  morning of Thanksgiving I'm making a huge brunch type meal. Leftover ham, eggs, grits, cinnamon rolls, biscuits, & hash-brown casserole. After that big meal the kin folks will be on their own to pick on leftovers the rest of the day.  

I've made place-cards for the night meal- not with names, we aren't that formal. But with Bible verses about thankfulness. We will be taking a family portrait with our camera, tripod, and remote that night. We'll take a serious traditional shot and them some funny ones, especially one in which everybody holds something from their hobby or passion [drumsticks for Jon, a book for me, a winning hand of cards for my mother...you see where I'm going with this]. And we'll also be writing Aunt Myrt [my 99yr. great aunt] a bunch of Christmas cards. I will buy a box at the Dollar Tree, set them out in a basket, and ask everyone to write something personal to her on the card of their choice. I will send them, along with copies of the family photos, in a big envelope to her around Christmas. She LOVES Christmas Cards!!!! As always, we will each tell one thing we are very thankful for from the preceding year at the Thanksgiving table before we say grace and start eating. 

My centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table is my Grandma Walton's sweet sage green biscuit bowl [she made her divine biscuits out of this crockery bowl] filled with little white pumpkins [these are fake but look real, I've had them for several years] and pomegranates with a few roses poked in the spaces between.  I have two tall heavy glass goblets with maroon squatty candles [again Dollar Tree] in them. They will sit on either side of the biscuit bowl. And I have my turkey salt and pepper shakers I scored in the Summer from GoodWill. Pomegranates are Allie's favorite fruit so she will eat these before she goes home, I'm sure.

My table linen is vintage- handed down from my Grandma Wingate. I always like to use her linens for the holidays as it brings her close. They are far from perfect but I especially love a European lace overlay that has been used at weddings in our family for about 50 years. And I love using her silverplate too, my Mom and I will be polishing it up this coming week. My Grandma Wingate was a great hostess and she pursued Thanksgiving with a passion- sometimes hosting a dinner for 50 or more. I'll never do that, but I do love this particular holiday.   

Hope your own Thanksgiving is meaningful and frugal!

Kid Easy Microwave Caramel Apple dip

This is a super easy fruit dip that is great for this time of the year. It's a dump and microwave type of recipe. Anybody can do it. It would make a really nice accompaniment to your Thanksgiving Day and your kids can do it with minimal supervision. It has a unique spicy flavor that is perfect for a crisp Fall day. 

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz bag butterscotch morsels
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tbs white vinegar

Dump all ingredients into a microwavable bowl and micro in minute increments stirring between. Once its smooth, its ready for apple or pear slices. To keep the fruit from discoloring after you slice it soak it in water plus 2 tbsp lemon juice or 1 tbsp Fruit Fresh. Drain and lay fruit on serving platter. Place bowl of dip in center. Enjoy!!!

5 Easy Cheap Stocking Stuffers

If you're a mom, chances are pretty good you're already wondering how you're going to fill your child's stocking this year without investing your life savings to do it. Times are tough but your baby should still get the joy of looking into a bulging stocking on Christmas morning. I know this because our grown kids and our son in law have told me that the stocking was their best memory of Christmas morning. Josh [our dear SIL] said that his mom has sent his stocking to Iraq and several other places he was stationed while in the military. It always meant Christmas to him wherever he was.

So, saying that, I'd like to tell you five tried and true methods for stuffing a stocking cheaply. These five items may not take up all the space in a really big stocking- but they'll surely get you most of the way there. Oh and BTW if you don't have a fancy stocking for your little ones, you could always buy a package of tube  socks and use them. Gray work socks with red heels and toes are really cute hanging from the mantle, bedpost, or kitchen chair as well. That way your kids or hubby get a stocking and a practical gift at the same time. Or if you don't have the funds to buy new socks, just put out an old clean one- that's what we did back in the day. Nobody I know has grown up to be a serial killer because they were deprived have an expensive monogrammed store bought stocking.

OK, now for the 5 items:

• 1. First put a big fresh orange in the toe of your stocking. It smells great and you'd be surprised how kids love to peel and eat an orange in sections on Christmas day. They labor over the peeling like they are digging for a treasure. They strip off the white stringy pith like it's a poisonous substance. Basically. its an edible toy. Who knew?   
• 2. Next put in a Christmas Pez dispenser, candies  included, from the Dollar store. This seems like a splurge but it's not. It's an investment. At the end of Christmas day the candies are gone and you confiscate the dispenser. Pack it up with the Christmas decorations. Then every year you put it back in the stocking with new candies. It becomes a tradition. We've been doing this for years and everybody adores finding their old Pez dispense- it's like seeing an old friend just once a year. 
• 3. Add a box of animal crackers. That's not very special you moan, but yeah it is. Girls play like the box is a purse all day. Boys love biting the heads and body parts off of the little cookies. And at some point during the day both sexes turn animal crackers into edible puppets.
• 4. Add a couple of homemade popcorn balls wrapped in cellophane. These take up space, are tasty, and you can use the extras as 'bread and butter' gifts. Easy recipe here: Popcorn balls  The trick is to make these up one night when the kids are asleep & hide them so that they are a surprise. If you aren't into making popcorn balls substitute that old standby- a box of Cracker Jacks.
• 5. One of your child's favorite large sized candy bars or theater candy boxes. Yep, just one. Nothing spoils Christmas morning more than a sugared up hyper charged kiddo who's already in sensory overload. These are readily available at most Dollar Tree Stores. At our house these would be a box of Hot Tamales, Lemon Heads, or Nerds.

These 5 items are our standbys and will take up the bulk of any given stocking, but you'll need to fill the 'gaps' in your stocking as well. I recommend any one of these Dollar store items divided among how ever many stockings you need to fill:

1 bag of tootsie roll pops, 1 bag of Pixie Sticks [a few of these look especially festive sticking from the top of the stocking], a bag of Blow Pops, a bag of small candy canes, or a bag of old fashioned Bubble Gum

If you're filling a stocking for a preteen, teenager, or adult I'd consider hygiene items [every year my 26 yr old son anticipates the Dollar Store nail clipper set in his stocking- he likes it because he's always misplacing his clippers, Allie favors the nail polish or hand creams. Hutch is a chapstick fanatic], small blank journals, pens, crossword/word find puzzle books, etc from the Dollar Store in lieu of the animal crackers. Also for this same crowd a personal letter from you telling why the giftee is lovable, capable, and listing their best qualities is great. This letter presented in the stocking, rolled up and tied with a ribbon, is a very nice touch.

I hope these 5 cheapie ideas are helpful to you and that they inspire you to brainstorm ways to make your holiday more festive and inexpensive.    

         

Setting Some New Routines at The Porch Swing

I'm setting up some new routines around here. I'm trying to get more organized. And I'd love your input into which of the topics below you would find most appealing. Please help me by picking your favorite topics. They are:

• Easy Peasy Recipes- Good Cheap Food Mostly Made From Scratch
• Decorating on a Dollar- Turning Your Home into a Serene Oasis for Pennies
• And They Will Not Depart From It- Building Your Child's Character & Education
• Help-meet 101- Simple Practical Marriage Enrichment for Wives
• Luxurious Simplicity & Frugality- Living the Good Life in a Bad Economy
• Humble Hospitality- How to Open Your Home Without Closing Your Bank Account 
• Simple Church- Understanding House Churches
• Handwork- Practical Crafts for You & Your Family
• All Good Gifts- Unique Low Cost Gift Ideas & Instructions 

And here's another question. Would anybody be interested in a forum here at The Porch Swing, or maybe an on-line Bible study? Please send me your comments. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think. Love Never Fails, Patty

 

Frugal Shopping for the Month

I've had a very busy and productive day today. Yesterday afternoon I got a bee in my bonnet about getting more organized with the meals here at Shady Creek. The impetus for this line of thinking was that we ate out three times last week!! Yep, 3 times. We haven't eaten out that many times in a week since I retired from teaching. It was an extremely busy week, but that is no excuse. I figure if I'd been more organized we could have saved a ton of money, eaten at home, and eaten healthier meals to boot. Sooooo....

I used all of Sunday afternoon to make 'The Plan'. OK here's the plan in a nutshell- make every meal at home and buy the bulk of the groceries in one big shop day. That was today. I will still need to get a limited amount of produce [Hutch is a rabid salad eater] and probably a gallon of lowfat milk weekly. I use dry milk to cook and bake with but Hutch is also a rabid fresh dairy fan. With the amount of miles he runs each week and the time he spends in the gym, he needs the calcium and protein. Fresh milk serves him well. So other than those few items, I'm done with shopping for four weeks.

My grand total was 255 dollars and change. That comes out to about 1.40 for a meal. I'm pretty happy with that since we have been spending waaaaay more than that lately. Here's my disclaimer: I go to the price plus 10% grocery store. It has no bells or whistles. It has no fresh seafood department, deli, or bakery. It is much like a very old timey Mom & Pop grocery store from the 50's. I've been shopping there for 15 years. I very rarely go anywhere else [except, I confess in the last two months I have succumbed to the seductive allure of Walmart *sigh*]. But I'm back on the wagon. Even Sam's Club can't beat the prices at Food Depot.       

Here's what my plan looks like in terms of meals:
Breakfasts are a variety combo of oatmeal, cereal [generic Cherrios], French Toast, biscuit, eggs, bacon, fruit, sausage, & grits- Of course not all of this at once, but I bet you figured that out already, huh?

Lunches are: soups, hot dog salads [recipe here], grilled cheese sandwiches, leftovers

Afternoon snacks: sardines in mustard sauce [OK- this sounds disgusting to me but my DH adores it], vienna sausages [read message about sardines- ditto the sausages], either a piece of fruit, or a handful of almonds  

Dinners are: salsa baked tilapia, slumgullion [here at recipe button], spaghetti, burrito bowl, hamburgers, mac & cheese with veggies, chicken stir-fry on rice, chips & salsa, crockpot chicken and cornbread dressing w turnips, corn & zipper peas, Tacos, & homemade pizza. 

I've incorporated a couple of desserts a week. One is on Friday nights- homemade M&M McFlurries for me & strawberry milkshakes for Hutch. The other is Sunday lunch which is our church fellowship meal. For this meal the dessert will be a pie of some sort. Either Lemon, Cherry, Chocolate, or Apple.

We're aiming for 5 fruits or veggies a day and limited red meat, sugar, & fat. I use seasoned ground turkey in many of the ethnic dishes. It's cheaper and much better for you. I pretty much add beans to everything. It stretches the amount of meat you have to use in a recipe and it's an internal body scrubber. I use whole grains as much as possible [brown rice, ww pasta]. We use low fat cheeses for the most part [Cabot lowfat sharp cheddar & lowfat mozzerella].  Our one really bad meal is the Friday night splurge- hamburgers, french fries, baked beans, and dessert.

The 255 dollars I spent today included all clothes detergent, bathroom, & kitchen cleaners. As well as paper products. Disclaimer here as well- I make a lot of these cleaners [recipes here under Frugal Tips], but you still have to buy the basic ingredients. I also use paper towels very sparingly. Usually only to drain fried foods- of which we eat very few. Instead I use my trusty supply of dish rags for general kitchen use and wash them often.  

I also buy items to stock our emergency pantry. We fill plastic bins with things that could be grabbed and tossed into the trunk of the car rapidly in case there's ever an evacuation type emergency. I just buy one or two things at the time, but it sure adds up! And I did buy my monthly Glade candle. Some things are just worth the extra pennies. A fragrant candle by my writing desk is one of these things.

And yes, I'm one of those folks who already have their Thanksgiving turkey and ham in the freezer. I don't do 'last minute' LOL. I'm just not wired that way, I guess.

So there you have it....my baby steps start to being more organized about meals. My research shows me that the typical two person household in the US spends about 338 dollars a month on groceries [this does not include cleaning or paper products etc]. As I wrote earlier, we've been spending much more than that, especially when you factor in our 'eat out' nights. Hopefully this new plan will be more in line with the average and maybe I can tweak it to get it even lower without sacrificing tasty favorites. I'll let you know.       

Easy Cheap Christmas Presents

OK, what gets me started on this particular topic is a documentary I saw last night on Johnnie Mercer. He was born and raised in Savannah [where I used to live and would dearly love to live again]. The documentary ended with a long shot of his grave in the family plot at Bonaventure Cemetery. If you're familiar with Savannah you know this place very well. It's a very old graveyard outside Savannah on the banks of the  Bull River.

In the long shot of Johnnie's grave there's a clear view of his mother's grave....OK I know this is sort of a convoluted explanation. But- I have a lovely rubbing of the top of her grave on my bedroom wall. It is a fantastically ornate Celtic cross that Johnny and his sister had commisioned as the art for the top of the grave slab. 

Allie [my daughter] and I had already made several framed pieces of cheap art from the words on tombs at Bonaventure. We used copy paper and a black crayon for the rubbings then she framed several in Dollar Store Black frames for a collection that set above her TV in her apartment.  

I loved Mrs Mercer's huge celtic cross [it is over 5 feet tall]. But the day Allie and I were at Bonaventure we only had standard copy paper. Allie is very smart, so several weeks later she went back to Bonaventure with a roll of Dollar Store wrapping paper. It was printed on one side but white on the backside. With Josh's help [he was her fiancee at the time, now her dear husband] they made me an incredible rubbing of the whole cross.

It sat around rolled up for a year, until my own dear husband had it framed for me as a Christmas gift. When we remade our bedroom over as a Medieval retreat, the huge celtic cross was a perfect fit. It sits at the peak of the very high ceiling and gives the impression of a black and white stained glass window.

Now I know you're saying, "Getting something that big custom framed is not frugal or cheap." No you'd be right it isn't, but our original idea for rubbings of words or dates and framing them in Black Dollar Store frames is extremely cheap. I have one such piece of art that is just a date- 1797. It is both graphic and old at the same time. It is framed in a small acryillic frame [Dollar Store]. It seems to float in space and and I love it!!! Allie's favorite piece was the word 'Beloved' that we found on an out of the way grave stone at Bonaventure.

If the words or dates are quite small you can mat them in black or mount them on black and white toile wrapping paper before framing to lend the art a very custom look.

So you see you could make a whole raft of unique and lovely artististic gifts by just finding a suitable old graveyard and arming yourself with copy paper and a black crayon. Hope you'll give this cheap and easy way to create one of a kind art a try.

I'll try to take a photo of my Celtic Cross and post it so you can see how it looks.     

Frugal Tasty Tortellini Soup

Well we finally finished the tortellini soup I made on Sunday night at lunch today. Pretty good lunches for Hutch and I off of leftovers we had in the frig and freezer. If you've never had homemade tortellini soup now is the season to do so. It is super cheap and very filling.

I will walk you through this very simple process. I started  with a roasted chicken carcass, three chicken bouillon cubes, and a huge pot full of water. If you're squeamish about using the whole carcass, just pick all the meat off and put it in the pot. But I think the bones make the soup taste lots richer and you fish them out so they're generally not a problem. Let this bubble away for thirty minutes or so. Then add 2 cloves of garlic chopped, a handful of frozen stir-fry veggies [that's what I had in the freezer], a diced onion, a diced bell pepper, and a handful or two of dry three cheese tortellini [I got mine at Walmart]. Season with a tsp of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 tsp of Italian seasoning herbs. Let it simmer away all day. At some point get the bones out if you used the whole carcass. That's it. OK here's what I did to make it last three days. After lunch the first day I let it cool and popped it in the frig. The next morning when I got up, I put it back on the stove with the eye set to the lowest setting. It was hot again by lunch.

You really can't mess this soup up. As long as you add the garlic and onion you could put just about any leftover veggie in it. I've made it with leftover beans, corn, and greens before and it is still yummy.If you like tomatoes just add a can of them diced.  Hope you'll give it a try. It sure will stretch a tight  food budget!!!    

Aunt Myrt's 99th

Yesterday was my Aunt Myrt's 99th birthday. My mom catered it with a huge lovely cake and special family recipe punch. You may have heard me mention Aunt Myrt around here before. She just moved into a retirement home a few months ago. If she hadn't fallen and cracked her collarbone checking on her neighbors a few months back, I'm sure she'd still be living on her on and doing all the things she loves- cooking, driving, etc. She just gave up her car about 6 months ago! She is a pistol for sure.

Her party was well attended by about 75 folks. 20 were her fellow roomies at the the retirement home. The rest were family and church friends. She is the oldest member of Sherwood Baptist Church- that's the church that made the movies 'Facing the Giants' & 'Fireproof'. She has loads of younger buddies there who visit her regularly.

She had a marvelous time visiting with one and all. She requested that Hutch, Allie, & I provide the music for the party. Hutch played the piano and Allie and I sang her favorite hymns. She especially loves 'In the Garden' which she reminds me I am to sing at her funeral every time we see her LOL.

She is a very happy person who loves to ask outrageous questions to get a rise out of anyone she meets. An example is that when one of the gentlemen who lives in her facility came out of his suite without his trousers [he has Alzheimer's] she just laughed and told the nurses she was fine. She did mention she hadn't seen 'that' since her husband died 25 years ago. She does love to flirt with attractive men and make them laugh- which she does quite easily. When she was redrawing her will a tear ago she told her young lawyer that she was positive, based on his recitation of his family tree, that they were 'kissing cousins'.  And she absolutely loves presents. Her mind is as sharp as the sight on a hunting rifle and she is our family prayer warrior. We all love her dearly and hope she enjoys at least another 99 years.

I had already sent her a big box of 7 wrapped presents with funny cards so that she and her across the hall buddy could open one each day for the week before her actual birthday. But Allie and I also got her a really lovely soft velour jogging suit in a bright sapphire blue. She was so pleased with that and all her other gifts- and there were loads of them. Everything from several checks for 99 dollars to things for her suite, candy, balloons, clothing and personal care items.

This is the we took a photo with Aunt Myrt & 5 generations of our family in the library at Pine Shadows [that's the personal care home where she lives].